Run-commuting, which is all I seem to have the time or energy for lately, just isn't that glamorous.

But there was that one run...

I got together with a group of co-workers and ran the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms!

Image cropped to protect the innocent

Touristy?
Oh hell, yes!
But it was a picture-perfect day for a run.

If you could sum up your year in a word, what would it be?

EXHAUSTION.
But also laughter.
And puke.
(My kid's. Not mine...)

Best read

Despite the exhaustion (or maybe because of it) I have done an incredible amount of reading this year... Amazon claims I downloaded nearly 3 dozen e-books, and I can attest to having read almost all of them. And the range is quite wide. I read through almost all of the Number One Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. I read cooking and travel books. I read (and quit reading) parenting books. I read management theory books...
Of that melange, some of my favorite reads, in no particular order, were:

But if I had to pick one favorite of the bunch, it would be The Goldfinch: A Novel. Donna Tartt's new book was so compelling that I stayed up late at night to read "just one more page," even when I was bleary-eyed with sleep deprivation.Best "in my kitchen" recipe

My whole cooking style has had to adjust to a new schedule and set of demands. So I have a many new favorite week-night recipes, and I've taken to roasting lots of vegetables on the weekend so there's less work to do during the week. (I especially love Yotam Ottolenghi's cauliflower with saffron and olives.)

But I've posted few of those new gems. So, by default, this year's winner is apple cake.

Sunday, October 19

I RAN A 7:53 MILE THIS MORNING!And...
I followed it up with 3 more for an 8:07 overall pace!!!

I started to write this post as a long reflection on my return to running after having a kid... but screw it. The thing that has me walking on air (and will have me limping, sorely, tomorrow) is that MY LEGS ARE FAST AGAIN.

I felt like I was going to *die* while running the last mile.
But I feel like a rock star right now.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; mix well to ensure there are no undissolved bits of brown sugar. Combine apple, oats, and milk; add to sugar mixture, mixing well. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir with a fork. Add to sugar mixture; mix just until moist. (Do not over mix the batter!)

Divide batter evenly into TWO 9 x 5-inch loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Friday, August 22

Last night baby boy woke every 90 minutes, and partway through the night we had a house-related catastrophe (don't ask) that kept me awake through what little sleep I might otherwise have gotten.

Needless to say, I wasn't in a chipper mood when I "woke" up and got ready for work this morning.

But then... browsing Express on my commute this morning, I read the following:

Making the work less terrible, one overpriced coffee at a time
A woman started an act of kindness chain that lasted for hours at a Starbucks drive-thru in Florida. She ordered an iced coffee around 7 a.m. Wednesday and asked to pay for the caramel macchiato for the stranger behind her. He returned the favor. The chain kept going - all the way up to 379 - as employees began keeping count.

Other news sources claim that the chain re-started, lasted as long as 11 hours, and reached as many as 700 customers.

The news actually made me a bit misty-eyed. I know buying a cup of coffee is a small thing when there are seemingly insurmountable problems in the world, but small kindnesses matter. I'm sure the lady who started the chain had no idea it would reach all the way to Washington, D.C.

But it did.

Long time readers of this blog (who stuck around through my maternity leave earlier this year) know that I am a huge fan of random acts of kindness. I also have a borderline obsession with my morning joe. And this news, expertly blending the two, was a bright spot in my otherwise bleak morning.

Sunday, August 17

1. I watched a man offer his seat on Metro to a mom and her kid. This occurred one stop after another rider offered a seat to me. (Just because.) I declined -- I actually prefer to stand when I ride -- but it was so very refreshing to see kindness among fellow commuters.

2. 2 new shoes mean my hips aren't bothering me any more!
Never ever again let me put 1,000+ miles on a pair of running shoes. I'm a veteran runner. You'd think I'd know better. But somehow all those miles I walked while pregnant didn't seem like "shoe miles."

3. 3 mother runners + 4 miles = 1 gorgeous run completed before 8am!

... a few more runs like this and I might actually feel like a "real" runner again.

RANT:

I hate the idea that I'm not a "real" runner right now.

I am a firm believer that anyone who runs is a runner. I tell that to other people - and believe it - all the time.
But somehow, when it's me, I can't keep the same perspective.

Monday, July 14

My Facebook wall today: Fastest mile I ever ran? Maybe not. But the lightning sure put some pep in my step on the commute home tonight!

That's the kind of running milestone I celebrate these days.

My running has been derailed. There are no more detailed training plans. These days I'm just trying to keep from passing out from exhaustion at work after yet another sleepless night. If I also shuffle home from the Metro station, it's only because it buys me an extra few minutes with my baby boy.

If I'm honest with myself, I think I jumped back into racing too soon. I ran a 5k at 6 months, and while my body was ready for the run, my head wasn't in it. I sort of hated every moment. ("Why am I doing this?!?" really isn't a winning mantra.) But that may be just the brutal 6-7 month sleep regression talking.

Over the next month my miles dwindled in direct proportion to my hours of sleep. Cumulative sleep deprivation is no joke. My body was barely functional on 2-3 hours of shuteye per night, and while I know well-meaning parenting books will tell you that exercise helps stave off fatigue, that advice is aimed at the sedentary American general public. Track workouts, I am sure, are not what they had in mind.

So I took a few weeks off. Dancing in the kitchen with my baby became a "workout."

And now, slightly better rested, I'm building back up again. But my running life will probably never be the same.

Here's what my running looks like now:

Last week I snuck out of the office for 3 miles at lunch. Over the weekend I was awake at 5am, so I nursed my baby, handed him off to dad, and hit the pavement for another 35 minutes (who knows if it was closer to 2 miles or 5?). And I've run to or from the train station a few times. I might've lifted weights once or twice.

I have no idea how many miles I've run. (Did I run commute 3 days? Four?)

And I don't care.

I'll just keep plugging along until the spark re-ignights. (Let's just hope it's not in the form of more lightning.)

I bounced back quickly from the cesarean operation, but I have a new appreciation for basic life skills like walking up and down stairs. For the record: It is one helluva knock to the ego to go from track workouts... to speed-walking at least 3 miles a day... to clawing your way through the 30 minutes it took to walk a single mile. Hello post-op body. What did you do with my stamina?

BB's favorite book, and my postpartum fitness motto

But with a combination of patience (read: not trying to do too much too soon), luck (read: no infection), and perseverance (read: I think I can! I think I can!) I kept at it, and was walking (sort of) like a normal person by week 3.

Honestly, I thought the post-cesarean workout video was great for weeks 4-6 postpartum, but my Type-A, track-workout-loving self absolutely HATED how slow the workout was. I know the gentle exercises were a necessary transition between surgery and a good, ache-inducing, sweaty workout, but the whole process sort of made me feel like an invalid.

Admittedly, my core muscles are still woefully weak, but I credit good prenatal fitness with my speedy recovery. And with that in mind, I was back up and working(out) as soon as my doctor gave me the green light.

My first non-postnatal workout was Kelli's Favorite Bodyweight Workout from FitnessBlender. It kicked my butt! (Truth: I'm not kidding about the weak core. At 10 weeks postpartum, I still modify some of the ab-toning moves.) My workout weeks now look something like this:

I'll keep posting my progress in coming weeks. Eventually I'd like to get back to running 4 days/week and then add speedwork back into my running routine, but the body has to finish healing (and ligaments need to firm back up) before that's a realistic goal.

Public Service Message from Captain Obvious: These posts are not intended to be a set of week-by-week postpartum workout guidelines. Every woman needs to do what's right for her and her baby, with a doctor's guidance, of course. I'd just like to keep y'all up to date on how things are going in my little world.